Some mental health initiatives at the workplace

Many organisations in Singapore have beefed up mental health support for their employees since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The Straits Times looks at a few of these initiatives.

At Standard Chartered, over 380 employees have been certified to offer confidential help to those with mental health struggles.

Last month, the bank said its "mental health first aider" network - with 60 of them based in Singapore - has doubled since 2019.

A spokesman for the Counselling and Care Centre said training employees to identify symptoms of mental health issues and render appropriate assistance will create a network of peer support among employees.

Firms such as Google have launched virtual meditation and yoga sessions since the start of the pandemic to help their employees relax.

Chief well-being officer of the Singapore Counselling Centre John Shepherd Lim said such activities are helpful because people often feel unmotivated about blocking out time to develop self-care habits.

Many organisations, including the public service, have created chatbots, portals and websites for employees to tap reliable resources and best practices in mental health.

Three counselling organisations told The Straits Times that there has been a rise in the number of companies engaging service providers of such programmes since the pandemic began.

These programmes allow workers to book counselling sessions with partner mental health organisations, and bill session fees to the company, said Mr Lim.